The No. 12 Nebraska Huskers women’s tennis team (15-2, 4-0 Big Ten) heads up against a former Big 12 foe with No. 35 Oklahoma State (7-3, 1-1 Big 12) on Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m. The match is on the west coast in San Diego, Calif. to allow the players to get some playing time on the outdoor courts. Oklahoma State’s record will change before the match on Thursday following their match against Illinois on Tuesday, March 19. This is the 34th meeting between the two teams with Oklahoma State leading the series 26-7.
Huskers In The ITA National Rankings

Nebraska’s current rank at 12th came after dropping six places following their loss to non-ranked San Diego. The ITA Division I women’s tennis rankings were released Tuesday, March 19 and Nebraska dropped to No. 12 in the nation this week.

Mary Weatherholt and partner Patricia Veresova remain in the ITA doubles rankings at No. 7. The two are undefeated (11-0) on the season, including three victories against ranked opponents over then-ranked No. 12 Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely of Tennesse, No. 31 Petra Niedermayerova and Karla Bonacic from Kansas State, and No. 8 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton of Northwestern.

Nebraska is currently 9-1 against teams ranked in the ITA top 75, with four of them falling outside the top 25. The Huskers have knocked off No. 7 Northwestern, No. 15 Baylor, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 21 Vanderbilt, No. 23 Tennessee, No. 32 Kansas State, No. 37 Illinois, No. 55 Ohio State, and No. 64 Wyoming. Nebraska’s only ranked loss came from No. 10 Miami at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 8.

The Huskers are the third-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind No. 9 Michigan and No. 11 Northwestern. Nine teams from the Big Ten are in the top 75 this week, with a total of four in the top 25. The other ranked Big Ten teams are No. 21 Purdue, No. 37 Penn State, No. 38 Indiana, No. 47 Illinois, No. 53 Ohio State, and No. 74 Iowa.

Mary Weatherholt Earns Athlete of the Week Third Time

The Huskers senior from Prairie Village, Kan. won the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week honors on March 13 following her impressive undefeated record, including several victories over ranked opponents in both singles and doubles. This marks the third time that Weatherholt has earned the award this season thus far, after claiming the honors the week of Jan. 30 and Feb. 13.

Weatherholt Sets Career Singles Wins Record for Nebraska

Weatherholt, with her 15 singles victories thus far this season, has set the record for Career Singles wins at 108, previously held by Sandra Noetzel from 1996-2000. She set the record on Friday, Feb. 22 with a victory agaisnt UALR.

Weatherholt Sets Career Combined Wins Record

Being undefeated on the season with a 26-0 combined record (15-0 single, 11-0 doubles), Weatherholt has reached 182 combined victories become the winningest women’s tennis player in Huskers history, formerly held by former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 181 total career combined wins. This pushes Geibert down to No. 2 and Sandra Noetzel’s 172 down to No. 3, formerly at No. 2. Only halfway through the season, Weatherholt will easily stretch this record even further with the remaining matches to be played.
Weinstein on the Record Hunt

Stefanie Weinstein has notched 32 combined victories this season which notches her at No. 4 on th Career Combined wins record board (with 167). She toppled Imke Reimers’ 164 on Friday, March 8 with her two victories against Illinois. Weinstein currently needs six more wins to overtake Sandra Noetzel’s 172 and only five more to tie her.

Weinstein also has 17 individual doubles wins this season which bumps her to the No. 2 spot on the school’s Career Doubles Individual Wins list at 86. This pushes former No. 2 Imke Reimers’ 74 to third and former No. 3 Sandra Noetzel’s 71 to fourth, Weinstein’s former mark. Five more individual doubles wins would put her tied for first with former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 91. Seven more victories would set the record and peak her at the top of the list.

Looking Ahead

Nebraska continues on the road to State College, Pa. to play Penn State on Sunday, March 31 at 11 a.m. before returning to Lincoln, Neb. to host Purdue and Indiana. The match against Purdue is set for April 5 at 3 p.m. and the match against Indiana is scheduled for April 7 at 11 a.m. These matches will be played outside at the Vine Street Courts, but will relocate to the Nebraska Tennis Center in the case of harsh weather.

Oklahoma State is currently 7-3 overall. The Cowgirls are coming off of a loss against Texas resulting in a 6-1 score and play Illinois on Tuesday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m. CT. Oklahoma State currently are ranked No. 35 and have one player in the singles rankings with No. 83 Malika Rose and no duos ranked in doubles. Last season Oklahoma State went 11-10, 5-4 Big 12. Oklahoma State and Nebraska have met 33 times throughout history with the series led by Oklahoma State 26-7.